Clare Balding: I want to marry my civil partner "for the verb"

I want to be married, not "civil partnered", says Clare Balding, as
she reveals her desire to marry Radio 4 announcer Alice Arnold.

Clare Balding pictured with Alice ArnoldPhoto: REX FEATURES

By Wesley Johnson, Home Affairs Correspondent

10:36AM GMT 23 Dec 2012

Britain’s newest national treasure, post her joyous Olympic presenting stint, talked about how she would like to marry Arnold, 50, "for the verb" and how being a lesbian could help her change the world.

“As far as marriage is concerned, I’d like to marry for the verb,” the 41-year-old TV presenter told Mail on Sunday You magazine.

“The ‘civilly partnered’ phrase is a bit unwieldy. Otherwise I can’t see it making any difference to us.”

Balding said she has never wanted children, but the couple already have a Tibetan terrier called Archie and a 16-year-old cat called Itty in the family.

“Being a lesbian is the least interesting thing about me and the least relevant thing to my job,” she added.

“But it’s probably the most important characteristic in terms of changing the world, because if I am relaxed and comfortable about it, then other people are too.”

Balding, who won widespread acclaim for her presenting from the Aquatics Centre at the Olympic Park this summer, also revealed she considered losing 10lb for the role, but decided against it after mulling it over with swimmer Keri-Anne Payne.

“I asked rhetorically if she thought it would make a big difference and she said, "Yes, it will make a big difference," and just as I was thinking, "You complete cow" she added that if I was starving myself my mind would be less sharp, my concentration lower and I'd be so busy thinking about eating or not eating that my on-screen performance would be seriously impaired.